Thief vandalises Sandy Hook massacre memorial and taunts family on the phone

A memorial playground for one of the 20 children killed in the Sandy Hook massacre has been vandalised.

Police say after a sign was stolen from the playground a man claiming to be the thief called the grieving family to taunt them over the phone.

Relatives of seven-year-old Grace McDonnell received a phone call from someone claiming the shooting was a government-orchestrated hoax.

The Where Angels Play Foundation have been building playgrounds for each of the children killed by a gunman on December 14, 2012, at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

The sign, which weighed more than 23kg and was painted with a message of peace, was taken from the playground dedicated to Grace.

Bill Lavin, part of the Where Angels Play Foundation, said: ‘It’s sad there are ignorant people who have to show their hatred in a place that was built by a community that shared and expressed their love for the families in Newtown that witnessed evil.’

He added: ‘The goodness of people built this and then someone has the audacity to come and steal what is a peace sign.’

Six adults were also killed in the 2012 shooting, which prompted debated about gun laws in the USA.